Principle 2

Last week we explored the First Principle of our fundamental operating Truths: There is only one Presence and one Power active as the Universe and as my life, God the Good.

We saw that God is not outside of us, but is both transcendent (all there is and everywhere) and immanent (personal and within). We saw that God is a force of energy. And how that energy expresses, or doesn’t, is up to us.

I hope you all found many ways to express God through you throughout your week.

 

And that brings us today to the Second Principle:

Our essence is of God; therefore, we are inherently good.  This God essence, called the Christ, was fully expressed in Jesus.

Or we could say….

We are spiritual beings, created in God’s image. The spirit of God lives within each person; therefore, all people are inherently good.

Or, another way….

Humankind was created from absolute good and our inherent nature is also good. We call our inherent goodness the Christ.

Or simply: as John 14:20 puts it: “On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.”

Anyway we look at it, we are inherently good, made in the image and likeness of God.

 

In his book, “Original Blessing”, Matthew Fox gives us cause to deny the traditional doctrine of original sin.

He says we do not enter existence as sinful creatures, instead, “We burst into the world as ‘Original Blessings.’” The only sin Fox recognizes is the sin of dualism; i.e., of seeing people and things as being separate from one another.

The only sin, therefore, is the refusal to see all as one.

I find comfort in Original Blessing…don’t you?

Fox continues: “The forces of fear and pessimism so prevalent in society and religion need to be countered by an increased awareness of awe and goodness,” and he teaches that when Original Blessing replaces Original Sin, relationships of awe, of passion and compassion, of love for justice and for the earth, are resurrected.

Nature gives us so many opportunities of awe.  And our families and friends give us opportunities of passion and compassion.

In her book, The Five Principles, Rev. Ellen Debenport writes: “Most people still want to believe in a God that knows and cares about the details of their lives, that can make a difference in what happens or at least in how they feel about what happens. Even with a concept of God as the Ground of Being, as impervious to our dramas as the air we breathe, that personal relationship with the divine has not been lost. With Principle Two, it merely has been relocated – inside us, as us.”

 

Ellen continues: “People who insist that humans are divine are often accused of thinking they are God, and the secret is: We are! Just as every tree is God in expression, just as every sunset or newborn child or act of mercy allows us to witness the divine, we, too, are expressions of God on Earth. We are the divine expressing in human form. At first it may sound grandiose to claim it, but properly understood, the awareness of our own divinity is where we derive our comfort, guidance and strength for the human experience. We can never be separate from God, and we have only begun to tap the power of the human spirit.”

This is what Jesus came to teach us, isn’t it?  He taught on several occasions that we would do even greater things than he did. He taught his disciples when they tried to deify him, “It is not I but the Spirit within who does the work.”

Jesus allowed himself to be a clear vehicle for the expression of God and as such was able to love, forgive, heal and teach from the Christ within him. Just as a drop of water from the ocean, or a wave of the ocean, is not the whole ocean but contains all the attributes of the ocean, so are we expressions of God, not being all of God, but having within us all the qualities of God, if we are only willing to demonstrate them.

This means being willing to live from our Christ self, to be more interested in doing the right thing than in being right, to be willing to show up as who we really are, not who we’re afraid we are. We learned a few weeks ago how the Four Agreements would help us be who we are meant be to, would help us to dis-guard some of the domestication we have learned, to release our negative history.  By Being Impeccable With Our Word, Not taking Anything Personally, Not Making Assumptions, and Always Doing Our Best; we move closer to our Christ selves.

We need to become increasingly more aware, as we heard Fox observe earlier, of awe and goodness.

This is what Jesus was trying to teach us and what he demonstrated with his life. When he healed, it was because he only saw wholeness. When he forgave, it was because he didn’t recognize anyone as sinful. Jesus became an absolutely clear conduit for Spirit, for the Christ consciousness, to fully demonstrate as him. And he did his best to try to teach us that we could do the same!

Eckhart Tolle, in A New Earth, observed: “Jesus speaks of the innermost I Am, the essence identity of every man and woman, every life-form, in fact. He speaks of the life that you are. Some Christian mystics have called it the Christ within; Buddhists call it your Buddha nature; for Hindus, it is Atman, the indwelling God. When you are in touch with that dimension within yourself – and being in touch with it is your natural state, not some miraculous achievement – all your actions and relationships will reflect the oneness with all life that you sense deep within. This is love. … “

Jesus came to teach us that we are one with God, that the Kingdom is within us and all around us. Now, do we always act that way? Probably not. We are spiritual beings having a human experience, with human brains that have been a little slow to catch up with our soul’s unfoldment. Brains that second guess our inner wisdom, that try to be the boss.  But as humans, we have the capacity to change. We have the capacity to observe our own evolution. We have the capacity to choose awe and compassion and goodness.

So how do we live the Second Principle?  Be curious… to explore, to discover how and why your life is unfolding as it is.  Be in the question!

Become willing to stop clinging to what we think we know, about ourselves and others. We see that everyone is of God and is inherently good, regardless of how we or they are behaving.

Please hear that this doesn’t mean that any and all behavior is OK, because clearly it isn’t. What it does mean is that we’re willing to see beyond what is currently demonstrating in physical reality, as Jesus did, to see the truth of ourselves… that our essence is of God and that we are inherently good.

As we make our attempts to live as Jesus has shown us, my guess is that this will cause us to become more loving, more forgiving, more compassionate, more interested, as Fox observed, in the awe and goodness around us than in whatever else is showing up.

It means that we become willing to see that everything is working together for good when we are willing to trust and let go of our old ways of thinking and being. We become willing to question the beliefs and assumptions we’ve based our actions and reactions on, and see through innocent eyes once again. The Buddhist’s call this having Beginner’s Mind… where we are willing to become teachable again, to see with new, fresh, innocent eyes, not limited by all our preconceived notions and prejudices.

We realize that all people are created with sacred worth and that no one exists outside the heart of God.

This principle frees us from low self-esteem and lack of self-confidence. It frees us from earlier teachings that told us we were inherently sinful. It frees us to express the Truth of who we are which, like our Creator, is goodness and love. It frees us to trust ourselves. In awareness of our Christ nature we realize that, “No One, and Nothing, is Against Me!”  Our self-esteem grows.

 

Ellen completes her exploration of the Second Principle with these observations: “The Easter metaphor of crucifixion, tomb and resurrection reflect our lives as they play out over and over. The worst of our experiences can become the greatest blessings of our lives. The darkest human behavior can move us to compassion and to the expression of our higher selves. Remember the global outpouring of love and our sense of oneness on September 11, 2001? With our response to a terrorist attack, we glimpsed who we truly are and what the kingdom of heaven can be. Love outweighs violence, our human oneness trumps our differences. As we continue to call on the best of ourselves – whether we call it the prefrontal cortex of the brain or the divine within – we consciously evolve for the better.”

These sentiments still hold true as our country and world continues to hold the light of love against terrorists.  You are the light of the world… you are the hands and feet, the ears and mouths, the heart and soul of God. You are the face of God….

We again ask ourselves “What is mine to do?” with regards to this and the negativity in our own nation.  It is not more negativity…it is love. It must be love. Love is the healing balm for us all. And it ALWAYS starts with each and every one of us.

If there is negativity in your house or mine, in your heart or mine, we must release it.  Resolve it.  Remove it.

So ask yourself if there is and where is it coming from and how is it resolved?  And then put feet to your prayers and resolve it in whatever way is needed.

We must remember something stated by Russell Brand, and many others in different ways, “Beneath and beyond our identity as human beings there is a divine self that is connected to all living things that is part of an infinite source of creativity.”

 

This is the One who will never leave us, the One who is not different from the essence of who we truly are.

Principle 2

Last week we explored the First Principle of our fundamental operating Truths: There is only one Presence and one Power active as the Universe and as my life, God the Good.

We saw that God is not outside of us, but is both transcendent (all there is and everywhere) and immanent (personal and within). We saw that God is a force of energy. And how that energy expresses, or doesn’t, is up to us.

I hope you all found many ways to express God through you throughout your week.

 

And that brings us today to the Second Principle:

Our essence is of God; therefore, we are inherently good.  This God essence, called the Christ, was fully expressed in Jesus.

Or we could say….

We are spiritual beings, created in God’s image. The spirit of God lives within each person; therefore, all people are inherently good.

Or, another way….

Humankind was created from absolute good and our inherent nature is also good. We call our inherent goodness the Christ.

Or simply: as John 14:20 puts it: “On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.”

Anyway we look at it, we are inherently good, made in the image and likeness of God.

 

In his book, “Original Blessing”, Matthew Fox gives us cause to deny the traditional doctrine of original sin.

He says we do not enter existence as sinful creatures, instead, “We burst into the world as ‘Original Blessings.’” The only sin Fox recognizes is the sin of dualism; i.e., of seeing people and things as being separate from one another.

The only sin, therefore, is the refusal to see all as one.

I find comfort in Original Blessing…don’t you?

Fox continues: “The forces of fear and pessimism so prevalent in society and religion need to be countered by an increased awareness of awe and goodness,” and he teaches that when Original Blessing replaces Original Sin, relationships of awe, of passion and compassion, of love for justice and for the earth, are resurrected.

Nature gives us so many opportunities of awe.  And our families and friends give us opportunities of passion and compassion.

In her book, The Five Principles, Rev. Ellen Debenport writes: “Most people still want to believe in a God that knows and cares about the details of their lives, that can make a difference in what happens or at least in how they feel about what happens. Even with a concept of God as the Ground of Being, as impervious to our dramas as the air we breathe, that personal relationship with the divine has not been lost. With Principle Two, it merely has been relocated – inside us, as us.”

 

Ellen continues: “People who insist that humans are divine are often accused of thinking they are God, and the secret is: We are! Just as every tree is God in expression, just as every sunset or newborn child or act of mercy allows us to witness the divine, we, too, are expressions of God on Earth. We are the divine expressing in human form. At first it may sound grandiose to claim it, but properly understood, the awareness of our own divinity is where we derive our comfort, guidance and strength for the human experience. We can never be separate from God, and we have only begun to tap the power of the human spirit.”

This is what Jesus came to teach us, isn’t it?  He taught on several occasions that we would do even greater things than he did. He taught his disciples when they tried to deify him, “It is not I but the Spirit within who does the work.”

Jesus allowed himself to be a clear vehicle for the expression of God and as such was able to love, forgive, heal and teach from the Christ within him. Just as a drop of water from the ocean, or a wave of the ocean, is not the whole ocean but contains all the attributes of the ocean, so are we expressions of God, not being all of God, but having within us all the qualities of God, if we are only willing to demonstrate them.

This means being willing to live from our Christ self, to be more interested in doing the right thing than in being right, to be willing to show up as who we really are, not who we’re afraid we are. We learned a few weeks ago how the Four Agreements would help us be who we are meant be to, would help us to dis-guard some of the domestication we have learned, to release our negative history.  By Being Impeccable With Our Word, Not taking Anything Personally, Not Making Assumptions, and Always Doing Our Best; we move closer to our Christ selves.

We need to become increasingly more aware, as we heard Fox observe earlier, of awe and goodness.

This is what Jesus was trying to teach us and what he demonstrated with his life. When he healed, it was because he only saw wholeness. When he forgave, it was because he didn’t recognize anyone as sinful. Jesus became an absolutely clear conduit for Spirit, for the Christ consciousness, to fully demonstrate as him. And he did his best to try to teach us that we could do the same!

Eckhart Tolle, in A New Earth, observed: “Jesus speaks of the innermost I Am, the essence identity of every man and woman, every life-form, in fact. He speaks of the life that you are. Some Christian mystics have called it the Christ within; Buddhists call it your Buddha nature; for Hindus, it is Atman, the indwelling God. When you are in touch with that dimension within yourself – and being in touch with it is your natural state, not some miraculous achievement – all your actions and relationships will reflect the oneness with all life that you sense deep within. This is love. … “

Jesus came to teach us that we are one with God, that the Kingdom is within us and all around us. Now, do we always act that way? Probably not. We are spiritual beings having a human experience, with human brains that have been a little slow to catch up with our soul’s unfoldment. Brains that second guess our inner wisdom, that try to be the boss.  But as humans, we have the capacity to change. We have the capacity to observe our own evolution. We have the capacity to choose awe and compassion and goodness.

So how do we live the Second Principle?  Be curious… to explore, to discover how and why your life is unfolding as it is.  Be in the question!

Become willing to stop clinging to what we think we know, about ourselves and others. We see that everyone is of God and is inherently good, regardless of how we or they are behaving.

Please hear that this doesn’t mean that any and all behavior is OK, because clearly it isn’t. What it does mean is that we’re willing to see beyond what is currently demonstrating in physical reality, as Jesus did, to see the truth of ourselves… that our essence is of God and that we are inherently good.

As we make our attempts to live as Jesus has shown us, my guess is that this will cause us to become more loving, more forgiving, more compassionate, more interested, as Fox observed, in the awe and goodness around us than in whatever else is showing up.

It means that we become willing to see that everything is working together for good when we are willing to trust and let go of our old ways of thinking and being. We become willing to question the beliefs and assumptions we’ve based our actions and reactions on, and see through innocent eyes once again. The Buddhist’s call this having Beginner’s Mind… where we are willing to become teachable again, to see with new, fresh, innocent eyes, not limited by all our preconceived notions and prejudices.

We realize that all people are created with sacred worth and that no one exists outside the heart of God.

This principle frees us from low self-esteem and lack of self-confidence. It frees us from earlier teachings that told us we were inherently sinful. It frees us to express the Truth of who we are which, like our Creator, is goodness and love. It frees us to trust ourselves. In awareness of our Christ nature we realize that, “No One, and Nothing, is Against Me!”  Our self-esteem grows.

 

Ellen completes her exploration of the Second Principle with these observations: “The Easter metaphor of crucifixion, tomb and resurrection reflect our lives as they play out over and over. The worst of our experiences can become the greatest blessings of our lives. The darkest human behavior can move us to compassion and to the expression of our higher selves. Remember the global outpouring of love and our sense of oneness on September 11, 2001? With our response to a terrorist attack, we glimpsed who we truly are and what the kingdom of heaven can be. Love outweighs violence, our human oneness trumps our differences. As we continue to call on the best of ourselves – whether we call it the prefrontal cortex of the brain or the divine within – we consciously evolve for the better.”

These sentiments still hold true as our country and world continues to hold the light of love against terrorists.  You are the light of the world… you are the hands and feet, the ears and mouths, the heart and soul of God. You are the face of God….

We again ask ourselves “What is mine to do?” with regards to this and the negativity in our own nation.  It is not more negativity…it is love. It must be love. Love is the healing balm for us all. And it ALWAYS starts with each and every one of us.

If there is negativity in your house or mine, in your heart or mine, we must release it.  Resolve it.  Remove it.

So ask yourself if there is and where is it coming from and how is it resolved?  And then put feet to your prayers and resolve it in whatever way is needed.

We must remember something stated by Russell Brand, and many others in different ways, “Beneath and beyond our identity as human beings there is a divine self that is connected to all living things that is part of an infinite source of creativity.”

 

This is the One who will never leave us, the One who is not different from the essence of who we truly are.

Principle 2

Last week we explored the First Principle of our fundamental operating Truths: There is only one Presence and one Power active as the Universe and as my life, God the Good.

We saw that God is not outside of us, but is both transcendent (all there is and everywhere) and immanent (personal and within). We saw that God is a force of energy. And how that energy expresses, or doesn’t, is up to us.

I hope you all found many ways to express God through you throughout your week.

 

And that brings us today to the Second Principle:

Our essence is of God; therefore, we are inherently good.  This God essence, called the Christ, was fully expressed in Jesus.

Or we could say….

We are spiritual beings, created in God’s image. The spirit of God lives within each person; therefore, all people are inherently good.

Or, another way….

Humankind was created from absolute good and our inherent nature is also good. We call our inherent goodness the Christ.

Or simply: as John 14:20 puts it: “On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.”

Anyway we look at it, we are inherently good, made in the image and likeness of God.

 

In his book, “Original Blessing”, Matthew Fox gives us cause to deny the traditional doctrine of original sin.

He says we do not enter existence as sinful creatures, instead, “We burst into the world as ‘Original Blessings.’” The only sin Fox recognizes is the sin of dualism; i.e., of seeing people and things as being separate from one another.

The only sin, therefore, is the refusal to see all as one.

I find comfort in Original Blessing…don’t you?

Fox continues: “The forces of fear and pessimism so prevalent in society and religion need to be countered by an increased awareness of awe and goodness,” and he teaches that when Original Blessing replaces Original Sin, relationships of awe, of passion and compassion, of love for justice and for the earth, are resurrected.

Nature gives us so many opportunities of awe.  And our families and friends give us opportunities of passion and compassion.

In her book, The Five Principles, Rev. Ellen Debenport writes: “Most people still want to believe in a God that knows and cares about the details of their lives, that can make a difference in what happens or at least in how they feel about what happens. Even with a concept of God as the Ground of Being, as impervious to our dramas as the air we breathe, that personal relationship with the divine has not been lost. With Principle Two, it merely has been relocated – inside us, as us.”

 

Ellen continues: “People who insist that humans are divine are often accused of thinking they are God, and the secret is: We are! Just as every tree is God in expression, just as every sunset or newborn child or act of mercy allows us to witness the divine, we, too, are expressions of God on Earth. We are the divine expressing in human form. At first it may sound grandiose to claim it, but properly understood, the awareness of our own divinity is where we derive our comfort, guidance and strength for the human experience. We can never be separate from God, and we have only begun to tap the power of the human spirit.”

This is what Jesus came to teach us, isn’t it?  He taught on several occasions that we would do even greater things than he did. He taught his disciples when they tried to deify him, “It is not I but the Spirit within who does the work.”

Jesus allowed himself to be a clear vehicle for the expression of God and as such was able to love, forgive, heal and teach from the Christ within him. Just as a drop of water from the ocean, or a wave of the ocean, is not the whole ocean but contains all the attributes of the ocean, so are we expressions of God, not being all of God, but having within us all the qualities of God, if we are only willing to demonstrate them.

This means being willing to live from our Christ self, to be more interested in doing the right thing than in being right, to be willing to show up as who we really are, not who we’re afraid we are. We learned a few weeks ago how the Four Agreements would help us be who we are meant be to, would help us to dis-guard some of the domestication we have learned, to release our negative history.  By Being Impeccable With Our Word, Not taking Anything Personally, Not Making Assumptions, and Always Doing Our Best; we move closer to our Christ selves.

We need to become increasingly more aware, as we heard Fox observe earlier, of awe and goodness.

This is what Jesus was trying to teach us and what he demonstrated with his life. When he healed, it was because he only saw wholeness. When he forgave, it was because he didn’t recognize anyone as sinful. Jesus became an absolutely clear conduit for Spirit, for the Christ consciousness, to fully demonstrate as him. And he did his best to try to teach us that we could do the same!

Eckhart Tolle, in A New Earth, observed: “Jesus speaks of the innermost I Am, the essence identity of every man and woman, every life-form, in fact. He speaks of the life that you are. Some Christian mystics have called it the Christ within; Buddhists call it your Buddha nature; for Hindus, it is Atman, the indwelling God. When you are in touch with that dimension within yourself – and being in touch with it is your natural state, not some miraculous achievement – all your actions and relationships will reflect the oneness with all life that you sense deep within. This is love. … “

Jesus came to teach us that we are one with God, that the Kingdom is within us and all around us. Now, do we always act that way? Probably not. We are spiritual beings having a human experience, with human brains that have been a little slow to catch up with our soul’s unfoldment. Brains that second guess our inner wisdom, that try to be the boss.  But as humans, we have the capacity to change. We have the capacity to observe our own evolution. We have the capacity to choose awe and compassion and goodness.

So how do we live the Second Principle?  Be curious… to explore, to discover how and why your life is unfolding as it is.  Be in the question!

Become willing to stop clinging to what we think we know, about ourselves and others. We see that everyone is of God and is inherently good, regardless of how we or they are behaving.

Please hear that this doesn’t mean that any and all behavior is OK, because clearly it isn’t. What it does mean is that we’re willing to see beyond what is currently demonstrating in physical reality, as Jesus did, to see the truth of ourselves… that our essence is of God and that we are inherently good.

As we make our attempts to live as Jesus has shown us, my guess is that this will cause us to become more loving, more forgiving, more compassionate, more interested, as Fox observed, in the awe and goodness around us than in whatever else is showing up.

It means that we become willing to see that everything is working together for good when we are willing to trust and let go of our old ways of thinking and being. We become willing to question the beliefs and assumptions we’ve based our actions and reactions on, and see through innocent eyes once again. The Buddhist’s call this having Beginner’s Mind… where we are willing to become teachable again, to see with new, fresh, innocent eyes, not limited by all our preconceived notions and prejudices.

We realize that all people are created with sacred worth and that no one exists outside the heart of God.

This principle frees us from low self-esteem and lack of self-confidence. It frees us from earlier teachings that told us we were inherently sinful. It frees us to express the Truth of who we are which, like our Creator, is goodness and love. It frees us to trust ourselves. In awareness of our Christ nature we realize that, “No One, and Nothing, is Against Me!”  Our self-esteem grows.

 

Ellen completes her exploration of the Second Principle with these observations: “The Easter metaphor of crucifixion, tomb and resurrection reflect our lives as they play out over and over. The worst of our experiences can become the greatest blessings of our lives. The darkest human behavior can move us to compassion and to the expression of our higher selves. Remember the global outpouring of love and our sense of oneness on September 11, 2001? With our response to a terrorist attack, we glimpsed who we truly are and what the kingdom of heaven can be. Love outweighs violence, our human oneness trumps our differences. As we continue to call on the best of ourselves – whether we call it the prefrontal cortex of the brain or the divine within – we consciously evolve for the better.”

These sentiments still hold true as our country and world continues to hold the light of love against terrorists.  You are the light of the world… you are the hands and feet, the ears and mouths, the heart and soul of God. You are the face of God….

We again ask ourselves “What is mine to do?” with regards to this and the negativity in our own nation.  It is not more negativity…it is love. It must be love. Love is the healing balm for us all. And it ALWAYS starts with each and every one of us.

If there is negativity in your house or mine, in your heart or mine, we must release it.  Resolve it.  Remove it.

So ask yourself if there is and where is it coming from and how is it resolved?  And then put feet to your prayers and resolve it in whatever way is needed.

We must remember something stated by Russell Brand, and many others in different ways, “Beneath and beyond our identity as human beings there is a divine self that is connected to all living things that is part of an infinite source of creativity.”

 

This is the One who will never leave us, the One who is not different from the essence of who we truly are.

The 5 Unity Principles

 

How many of you have been active in other Unity Centers or Churches? Please stand if you are able.

Now how many of you remaining were aware of Unity at all, before coming to Unity of Rehoboth Beach?   Please stand if you are able.

SO we see that some of us know a lot about Unity, some a bit more than others and some of us not much of what Unity is about.

It’s one of the things that is exciting and difficult as a teacher…. trying to say things in a way that can reach all levels of knowing and understanding.

Today we are going to start a series of Lessons on the 5 Basic Principles that are the basis of what Unity believes.

These are not creeds or rules that one must follow.  WE do not require adhering to specific rules.

These Principles Are Spiritual Law.  They apply to everyone all the time, everywhere.  Like 2 + 2 = 4, always true. Like gravity.

Whether or not we believe in the law of gravity, gravity exists. It’s not like we can wake up in the morning and say, “Today, I’m going to ignore the law of gravity.” You might give it your best shot, but in the end, gravity will win.

Just as we’ve learned to work with gravity and math, we can also learn to work with spiritual principles… for as many of us have learned, they work when you work them!

We must become willing to practice them. “I am willing…” three of the most

powerful words in the Universe.  (let’s say them?)

Second, we observe the difference between a principle and a rule. According to Dr.

Maria Nemeth, “A principle is a guideline, an important underlying law or

assumption required in a system of thought. It shows us the basic way in which

something works. Spiritual principles are therefore basic underlying laws that show

us how to wake ourselves up to our true nature…”

As such principles cannot be broken… they simply are, whether we practice them or not. When we practice a spiritual principle, there is a sense of all is well, a sense of grace and of waking up.

A rule, on the other hand, is something we sense is being imposed from the outside, and hence can be broken.  An example would be speed limits; though I do not suggest that we break them.

Practicing these spiritual principles is the foundation for our works. They give meaning and purpose to our actions.

You were given a card with the 5 Principles for your reference and use.  I hope it is useful to you.  A gift from us. Let’s look at them:

The 5 Principles, then, are:

1. There is only one Presence and one Power active as the universe and as my life, God the Good.
2. Our essence is of God; therefore, we are inherently good.  This God essence, called the Christ, was fully expressed in Jesus.
3. We are co-creators with God, creating reality through thoughts held in mind.
4. Through prayer and meditation, we align our heart-mind with God.  Denials and affirmations are tools we use.
5. Through thoughts, words and action, we live the Truth and we know.

These Principles have been written several different ways. You can see some on our website, Darla has posted some for us. There may be a version there that you may like better than what you see and hear today.  They each say our Truth in different ways so all can understand.

We will take the next weeks to explore each Principle.

So, the first; There is only one Presence and one Power active as the universe and as my life, God the Good.  God is Absolute Good, everywhere present. This is Unity’s foundational belief, upon which all our other teachings rest and are built.

 

In her book, The Five Principles, Rev. Ellen Debenport observes: “Principle One affirms that God is all there is. God is omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent – but not all-powerful but all power, not all-knowing but all knowledge, and present everywhere. God is the stars, the rocks, the animals, the people. God is the love, the creativity, the wisdom that human beings express. All that we are and have is

God, and we can never be separate from that universal power.”

 

And that means everything is Divine.

Think about that for a minute.

Everything, everyone is Divine.

 

Many traditions have taught this truth of our divinity.

Taoism teaches that the Tao, the flow of the Universe, is everywhere present.

From the Bhagavad Gita we read: By me is this entire universe pervaded.

All things are in Me, and I in them. Know that as the mighty wind blowing everywhere rests in the sky. All created beings rest in Me. I am the Father, the Mother, the Supporter and the Grandsire of the Universe.

And of course that wise teacher and Jedi master, Obi Wan Kenobi, taught, “The

Force is… an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates

1. It binds the galaxy together. …The Force is with you. Always.”

 

Principle One maintains that we are one with God, or as St. Paul taught, that we live

and move and have our being in God.

So, we say God is the source and creator of all. There is no other enduring power. God is good and present everywhere.

Often the next question is, what about evil, bad things happening?

Rev. Ed Townley answers that question this way:

Historically, the argument has looked like this: If God cannot prevent bad things from happening, then God is not all powerful. And if God will not prevent evil, God is not all good.

The problem is known as theodicy, and theologians have traditionally offered three types of solutions to this dilemma:

1)    God is not all powerful. God is limited in some ways, and there are some things He/She/It cannot do in an orderly universe.

2)    Evil is good for you. Bad things are not truly evil but a disguised form of good. For example, suffering can be a challenge to faith, a hidden growth experience, a spiritual test.

3)    Evil and suffering are a mystery. These matters cannot be understood by limited human minds. Resolutions to the problem of theodicy will wait until we receive what Catholics call the beatific vision in the afterlife.

 

None of these explanations are very satisfactory, especially for a parent who has just lost a child or any innocent bystander who has suffered the collateral damage which goes with living in a physical universe.

We all have examples of situations and events that happen to us and we wonder why.  I’ve mentioned my family situation and the lessons learned from what many would a consider terrible situation.  Those lessons teach empathy that can be expressed to others who are going through similar situations.

The same goes for being gay and the compassion I can show to others as they struggle with acceptance of themselves.

And we all have been cut off in traffic at one time or another, yet if we ‘stay on our card’ and be present, we can allow that the person in the other car may need to be someplace fast, a hospital to welcome their first child, a hospice to say good bye to a parent for the last time, and yes, even what they think is an important meeting.

Just let them go and keep your cool.

Rabbi Harold Kushner’s best-selling book When Bad Things Happen to Good People makes the following comment, which is the key to the problem:

All the responses to tragedy which we have considered have at least one thing in common. (Have you figured out what it is?)  They all assume that God is the cause of our suffering and they try to understand why God would want us to suffer … We were left either hating ourselves for deserving such a fate or hating God for sending it to us when we did not deserve it. There may be another approach. Maybe God does not cause our suffering.

The confusion begins with a misunderstanding of God’s nature. Instead of pulling strings like a puppeteer, perhaps God is not separate from the cosmos. What if God’s power in fact animates the very atoms of the universe, yet even the smallest molecule has a measure of free will? Suppose God wants all sentient beings to be happy, healthy and wise and has provided a cosmos in which individualized expressions of Divine Intelligence—you and I—must discover and apply the physical and spiritual principles necessary to produce such happiness, health and wisdom.

If people center themselves on the Truth of God’s absolute goodness, even in the face of apparent “evil” and unspeakable suffering; if they rely upon God while walking the valley of the shadow—for that is what evil and suffering are in eternity, mere shadows—then no calamity can overwhelm their sense of okay-ness about life, for they know God has issued a guarantee that everything will work out for the good. This does not mean I should glibly dismiss suffering as an “error in consciousness,” or feel superior to people who are in pain or feel guilty when I face a health challenge or some personal tragedy. Our human response to happenings will play out in one form or another.

Our Free Will allows the freedom necessary for spiritual growth.  That is why we are here.

Keep in mind, too, that good and bad are mere labels we use to attempt to understand situations as they happen.

And, events themselves do not have to be good in order for good to come about. Events are just events.

 

This 1^st principle frees us from fear of a God that punishes. It frees us from the fear that there is a Satan who can and will overpower us, if we are not constantly vigilant. It frees us from the belief that any other person has authority over our spirit. This principle offers us the freedom to trust in a benevolent, loving Universe which has only our good in mind.

Trust is our personal characteristic of this Principle.  Trust in ourselves and the integrity we have and are developing.  Trust that inner voice that is the Divine.

 

So our next obvious question is what would it be like to actually live what Jesus taught… to live what we said we believed?

So what does it look like to live the First Principle? What would our thoughts, words and actions be if we lived this Truth; there is only one Presence and one Power active as the universe and as my life, God the Good? Time for responses

Well, we’d probably complain a lot less! I mean, if it’s all good, what do we have to complain about, right? Being gifted with hot weather so we can appreciate snow

Someone cuts me off in traffic, consider that they may really have an emergency.

We’d probably find ourselves judging a lot less, and being grateful for a lot more.

We would see good in everything.  No reactions.  See only love.

This then would mean we would remember that we are all one, and if there is a problem with one of the One, it may be a problem with you.  Didn’t Jesus say something about the log in your own eye, and to turn the other cheek, to go the extra mile?

One of our core values is Community.  Fellowship.  And it came out as the best thing we were doing correctly here at Unity of Rehoboth Beach from our little survey. So where could you and I improve in our Community?

Where in my life have I not gone the extra mile?

I look at my week and most of it is spent on Unity things, prayer, writing, doing social media and out-reach.  Calls and emails.  Letters and reports. Reminders to people who may have missed a Sunday service that they were missed and that we hope to see them again soon. Thank you;s to new people.

Sundays’ arriving here early, helping some to set-up and seeing that all the set-up is organized.  Sometimes finding helpers where needed.  Trying to keep the service on schedule.  After the service, I try to speak even a little to as many people as possible to let them know they are honored in my heart and loved here at unity.

And then we have clean-up, unfortunately. And we must leave our Unity family for a time again.

And then the week starts all over again.

The extra mile for me is giving more. Even more to those who are reaching out, who ask for guidance, who hurt and betray and still, I am here for them, for you, all of you.

Talking about this 1^st Principle has made me contemplate where I am with my faith and I know that I am doing what I am intended to do at this time. And I trust that I will always be guided to the right and perfect answer to each and every call, question, situation. I Trust in God.

Where has your extra mile taken you?

The 5 Unity Principles

How many of you have been active in other Unity Centers or Churches? Please stand if you are able.
Now how many of you remaining were aware of Unity at all, before coming to Unity of Rehoboth Beach? Please stand if you are able.
SO we see that some of us know a lot about Unity, some a bit more than others and some of us not much of what Unity is about.

It’s one of the things that is exciting and difficult as a teacher…. trying to say things in a way that can reach all levels of knowing and understanding.
Today we are going to start a series of Lessons on the 5 Basic Principles that are the basis of what Unity believes.
These are not creeds or rules that one must follow. WE do not require adhering to specific rules.
These Principles Are Spiritual Law. They apply to everyone all the time, everywhere. Like 2 + 2 = 4, always true. Like gravity.
Whether or not we believe in the law of gravity, gravity exists. It’s not like we can wake up in the morning and say, “Today, I’m going to ignore the law of gravity.” You might give it your best shot, but in the end, gravity will win.
Just as we’ve learned to work with gravity and math, we can also learn to work with spiritual principles… for as many of us have learned, they work when you work them!
We must become willing to practice them. “I am willing…” three of the most
powerful words in the Universe. (let’s say them?)
Second, we observe the difference between a principle and a rule. According to Dr.
Maria Nemeth, “A principle is a guideline, an important underlying law or
assumption required in a system of thought. It shows us the basic way in which
something works. Spiritual principles are therefore basic underlying laws that show
us how to wake ourselves up to our true nature…”
As such principles cannot be broken… they simply are, whether we practice them or not. When we practice a spiritual principle, there is a sense of all is well, a sense of grace and of waking up.
A rule, on the other hand, is something we sense is being imposed from the outside, and hence can be broken. An example would be speed limits; though I do not suggest that we break them.
Practicing these spiritual principles is the foundation for our works. They give meaning and purpose to our actions.
You were given a card with the 5 Principles for your reference and use. I hope it is useful to you. A gift from us. Let’s look at them:
The 5 Principles, then, are:
1. There is only one Presence and one Power active as the universe and as my life, God the Good.
2. Our essence is of God; therefore, we are inherently good. This God essence, called the Christ, was fully expressed in Jesus.
3. We are co-creators with God, creating reality through thoughts held in mind.
4. Through prayer and meditation, we align our heart-mind with God. Denials and affirmations are tools we use.
5. Through thoughts, words and action, we live the Truth and we know.
These Principles have been written several different ways. You can see some on our website, Darla has posted some for us. There may be a version there that you may like better than what you see and hear today. They each say our Truth in different ways so all can understand.
We will take the next weeks to explore each Principle.
So, the first; There is only one Presence and one Power active as the universe and as my life, God the Good. God is Absolute Good, everywhere present. This is Unity’s foundational belief, upon which all our other teachings rest and are built.

In her book, The Five Principles, Rev. Ellen Debenport observes: “Principle One affirms that God is all there is. God is omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent – but not all-powerful but all power, not all-knowing but all knowledge, and present everywhere. God is the stars, the rocks, the animals, the people. God is the love, the creativity, the wisdom that human beings express. All that we are and have is
God, and we can never be separate from that universal power.”

And that means everything is Divine.
Think about that for a minute.
Everything, everyone is Divine.

Many traditions have taught this truth of our divinity.
Taoism teaches that the Tao, the flow of the Universe, is everywhere present.
From the Bhagavad Gita we read: By me is this entire universe pervaded.
All things are in Me, and I in them. Know that as the mighty wind blowing everywhere rests in the sky. All created beings rest in Me. I am the Father, the Mother, the Supporter and the Grandsire of the Universe.
And of course that wise teacher and Jedi master, Obi Wan Kenobi, taught, “The
Force is… an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates
us. It binds the galaxy together. …The Force is with you. Always.”

Principle One maintains that we are one with God, or as St. Paul taught, that we live
and move and have our being in God.
So, we say God is the source and creator of all. There is no other enduring power. God is good and present everywhere.
Often the next question is, what about evil, bad things happening?
Rev. Ed Townley answers that question this way:
Historically, the argument has looked like this: If God cannot prevent bad things from happening, then God is not all powerful. And if God will not prevent evil, God is not all good.
The problem is known as theodicy, and theologians have traditionally offered three types of solutions to this dilemma:
1) God is not all powerful. God is limited in some ways, and there are some things He/She/It cannot do in an orderly universe.
2) Evil is good for you. Bad things are not truly evil but a disguised form of good. For example, suffering can be a challenge to faith, a hidden growth experience, a spiritual test.
3) Evil and suffering are a mystery. These matters cannot be understood by limited human minds. Resolutions to the problem of theodicy will wait until we receive what Catholics call the beatific vision in the afterlife.

None of these explanations are very satisfactory, especially for a parent who has just lost a child or any innocent bystander who has suffered the collateral damage which goes with living in a physical universe.
We all have examples of situations and events that happen to us and we wonder why. I’ve mentioned my family situation and the lessons learned from what many would a consider terrible situation. Those lessons teach empathy that can be expressed to others who are going through similar situations.
The same goes for being gay and the compassion I can show to others as they struggle with acceptance of themselves.
And we all have been cut off in traffic at one time or another, yet if we ‘stay on our card’ and be present, we can allow that the person in the other car may need to be someplace fast, a hospital to welcome their first child, a hospice to say good bye to a parent for the last time, and yes, even what they think is an important meeting.
Just let them go and keep your cool.
Rabbi Harold Kushner’s best-selling book When Bad Things Happen to Good People makes the following comment, which is the key to the problem:
All the responses to tragedy which we have considered have at least one thing in common. (Have you figured out what it is?) They all assume that God is the cause of our suffering and they try to understand why God would want us to suffer … We were left either hating ourselves for deserving such a fate or hating God for sending it to us when we did not deserve it. There may be another approach. Maybe God does not cause our suffering.
The confusion begins with a misunderstanding of God’s nature. Instead of pulling strings like a puppeteer, perhaps God is not separate from the cosmos. What if God’s power in fact animates the very atoms of the universe, yet even the smallest molecule has a measure of free will? Suppose God wants all sentient beings to be happy, healthy and wise and has provided a cosmos in which individualized expressions of Divine Intelligence—you and I—must discover and apply the physical and spiritual principles necessary to produce such happiness, health and wisdom.
If people center themselves on the Truth of God’s absolute goodness, even in the face of apparent “evil” and unspeakable suffering; if they rely upon God while walking the valley of the shadow—for that is what evil and suffering are in eternity, mere shadows—then no calamity can overwhelm their sense of okay-ness about life, for they know God has issued a guarantee that everything will work out for the good. This does not mean I should glibly dismiss suffering as an “error in consciousness,” or feel superior to people who are in pain or feel guilty when I face a health challenge or some personal tragedy. Our human response to happenings will play out in one form or another.
Our Free Will allows the freedom necessary for spiritual growth. That is why we are here.
Keep in mind, too, that good and bad are mere labels we use to attempt to understand situations as they happen.
And, events themselves do not have to be good in order for good to come about. Events are just events.

This 1st principle frees us from fear of a God that punishes. It frees us from the fear that there is a Satan who can and will overpower us, if we are not constantly vigilant. It frees us from the belief that any other person has authority over our spirit. This principle offers us the freedom to trust in a benevolent, loving Universe which has only our good in mind.
Trust is our personal characteristic of this Principle. Trust in ourselves and the integrity we have and are developing. Trust that inner voice that is the Divine.

So our next obvious question is what would it be like to actually live what Jesus taught… to live what we said we believed?
So what does it look like to live the First Principle? What would our thoughts, words and actions be if we lived this Truth; there is only one Presence and one Power active as the universe and as my life, God the Good?
Well, we’d probably complain a lot less! I mean, if it’s all good, what do we have to complain about, right? Being gifted with hot weather so we can appreciate snow
Someone cuts me off in traffic, consider that they may really have an emergency.
We’d probably find ourselves judging a lot less, and being grateful for a lot more.
We would see good in everything. No reactions. See only love.
This then would mean we would remember that we are all one, and if there is a problem with one of the One, it may be a problem with you. Didn’t Jesus say something about the log in your own eye, and to turn the other cheek, to go the extra mile?
One of our core values is Community. Fellowship. And it came out as the best thing we were doing correctly here at Unity of Rehoboth Beach from our little survey. So where could you and I improve in our Community?
Where in my life have I not gone the extra mile?
I look at my week and most of it is spent on Unity things, prayer, writing, doing social media and out-reach. Calls and emails. Letters and reports. Reminders to people who may have missed a Sunday service that they were missed and that we hope to see them again soon. Thank you’s to new people.
Sundays’ arriving here early, helping some to set-up and seeing that all the set-up is organized. Sometimes finding helpers where needed. Trying to keep the service on schedule. After the service, I try to speak even a little to as many people as possible to let them know they are honored in my heart and loved here at unity.
And then we have clean-up, unfortunately. And we must leave our Unity family for a time again.
And then the week starts all over again.
The extra mile for me is giving more. Even more to those who are reaching out, who ask for guidance, who hurt and betray and still, I am here for them, for you, all of you.
Talking about this 1st Principle has made me contemplate where I am with my faith and I know that I am doing what I am intended to do at this time. And I trust that I will always be guided to the right and perfect answer to each and every call, question, situation. I Trust in God.
Where has your extra mile taken you?

The Four Agreements, Pt. 2

 

We’re back again this week to conclude the lessons presented in Don Miguel Ruiz’s book, “The Four Agreements – A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom”.

We started last week looking at the premise that we are domesticated by our families, our schools, our churches, our cultures, even our Nationality.

Ruiz says “Whenever we hear an opinion and believe it, we make an agreement, and it becomes part of our belief system.  …somewhere someone told us through their word, that we were not enough and we agreed with it.”

He suggests that if we accept these four agreements and put them into practice…then many of our old, painful outdates agreements (or beliefs) will fall away.

We are here to transform life to, aren’t we?  Our lives and the life of the planet.    We are here to find deeper parts of ourselves, to let go of that which binds us…and to find something larger which expands us and moves us into a deeper peace, a deeper appreciation and a deeper love.

So let’s move on.

 

Last week we looked at the first two agreements –

 

1. Be impeccable with your word…and that means each and every word we think and speak. The word impeccable means “without sin,” or anything that you do which goes against yourself.  When you are impeccable, you take responsibility for your actions, but you do not judge or blame yourself.”  “Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others.” Ruiz tells us that this is the most important agreement.

 

2. Don’t take anything personally.  The second agreement is about the thoughts, actions and words others have about us and how to handle them.  For example:

 

A policeman was heading home after a long, hard day on patrol. He had dealt with a whole succession of difficult people, and a mountain of frustrating paperwork. All he wanted at this point was to kick back, unwind, enjoy some peace and quiet, and maybe watch a few innings of baseball on TV.

But, as he neared home, he was startled by a vehicle that came careening around a sharp curve and narrowly missed his squad car. As the car passed within a few inches of him, the other driver shouted “Pig!”

The police officer was suddenly energized. He slammed on brakes, all set to turn his squad car around and head off in hot pursuit. But as he rounded the curve, … he ran head-on into a large pig that was standing in the middle of the road!

Did he take anything personally?

 

Now we are ready to look at the last two agreements.

The 3rd agreement is: Don’t make assumptions…

 

We do have the tendency to make assumptions about everything.  The problem with making assumptions is that we believe they are the truth.  We could swear they are real.  But they are all based on our domestication…

When we fail to ask for clarification about something, we make an assumption about it.  Sometimes it’s a simple thing like seeing someone with an “I Love Italy” shirt on and assuming they are Italian.

 

But when we make assumptions about what others are doing or thinking, and it’s not true according to them, we take it personally, we blame them and react by sending them “emotional poison” with our word or reaction in the form of anger, negative talk, negative body language, avoidance, etc.  We try to make them be in the wrong when it was us who made the assumption!

Think about it…when have you made an assumption lately?

I could be making an assumption about whether or not you are even listening to me by your body language.  You may have a serious face, sometimes frown – may be shaking your head- maybe just staring off at the field behind me!  I’m thinking – they aren’t getting it or they must really disagree with what I’m trying to say.  After Service you may come up and surprise me by saying, “you wrote that lesson just for me!”

 

When we make assumptions – we make mountains out of molehills, create conflict and make ourselves miserable.

We continually make assumptions, in our relationships, often to our detriment.  I can remember in an early relationship thinking if they love me, they will know what I like.  Or how I pay attention to what they are saying so I know what they want, so they should do the same.

Of course, back then there was little real communication about what we wanted.  Now I know better.

We have many, many questions in our heads and we need an answer to feel safe.  We have a fear of not knowing – fear of the mystery of life.  We don’t like “not knowing.”

Ask yourself this: How comfortable am I with saying “I don’t know?”

 

To have clear communication, we are called to move through our fear and stop making assumptions.  Imagine what your life would be like if you started communicating from “I don’t know.” and started saying “I don’t understand.  Can you help me get more clarity?  or What do you mean by that?  or How do you feel about that?  what do you think?  And my mentors’ favorite – “Say more about that.”

 

Let’s imagine the day when you stop making assumptions with your loved ones and eventually everyone else in your life.

 

Your way of communicating will completely change and your relationships will no longer be plagued by conflicts that arise from mistaken assumptions.

 

1. ASK QUESTIONS> It’s easy to jump to conclusions. But, before you jump the gun on anything you might read or hear, remember one simple word: Clarify. By asking questions and filling in the blanks, you can weed out fact from fiction.
2. LISTEN> Are you really listening to the person talking? It’s called Active Listening. Are you misinterpreting what they are saying?  Are you finishing other’s sentences?  Sometimes we only see what we want see to see and hear what we want to hear.  Take a minute to truly be present.  Then take a few deep breaths, make eye contact and listen.
3. GIVE YOURSELF A BREAK> Remember that you are perfect in your imperfection. We sometimes make progress by moving two steps forward, one step back. Recognize that – be present to it and keep moving forward.
4. Practice> Don Miguel Ruiz writes ‘Taking the action over and over again strengthens your will, nurtures the seed, and establishes a solid foundation for the new habit to grow. After many repetitions these new agreements will become second nature’

 

 

 

 

“There is just one more agreement, but it’s the one that allows the other three to become deeply ingrained habits.  The fourth agreement is about the action of the first three.  Always Do Your Best.

 

Under any circumstance, always do your best, no more and no less.  But keep in mind that your best is never going to be the same from one moment to the next.  Everything is alive and changing all the time, so your best will sometimes be high quality, and other time it will not be as good.”

 

Ruiz says, as we build the habit of the four new agreements, our best will become better than it used to be.  So we are called to always do our best in practicing the first three agreements – being impeccable with our word, don’t take anything personally, and don’t make assumptions.   At first, this sounds like a source of stress, this thinking we must do our best at all times, especially for those of us who battle with a tendency toward perfectionism.

But here’s what he says about doing our best:

We must accept that “our best” changes from day to day, from hour to hour.  It ebbs and flows with our mood, with the state of our health, with countless other factors.  He says we often stress ourselves out by trying to do more than our best.  Intentionally doing less than our best leaves us feeling guilty and frustrated, but overdoing things simply depletes our energy and keeps us from accomplishing our goals.

 

And if you are one of those people that takes everything seriously and turns this inward, take a deep breath and be gentle with yourself.  We need to remember that this is not about perfection, it’s about progress.  So the real question for us in regards to this practice, or any other practice is, “Where are we now?”  Not compared to our neighbor, but where are we now in how we handle ourselves in difficult situations and conflict and challenge and joy and opportunity?  Where are we with that now, compared with where we were a month ago?  Six months ago?  A year ago?  Our own Personal Best.

 

It’s important in our daily practice for us to always do our best.  No matter what.  Whether it’s a small challenge or not so small challenge.  No matter what the circumstances might be.  Even if we think the people around us don’t deserve our doing our best.  Doing your best, no matter what.  That means we don’t say, I will do my best when I get another job.  Or when I meet someone else.  It means right here and now.  In the job I am already in, in the relationships I am already in.

 

Isn’t it interesting that we start a new relationship doing our best and that is called courting?  And then there is the honeymoon – where we put our best forward physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually.  And then at some point in time there is a time when we get lazy….  We say well, I’ll do my best when she is more loving and affectionate.  Or I’ll do my best when he listens to me.  Or I’ll do my best when….  well, not until they change.  Any one relate to that?

Whatever we do, we must strive to do our best, because when we always do our best, we help ourselves grow spiritually and then we’re better equipped to handle our next challenge.   The truth is Yes; some days we are going to feel better than others.  But it is important for us to do our personal best – the best we can do at that moment.

 

Doing our best means taking action. It means setting an intention or goal, putting our attention on that intention and then practicing.  You know, the fifth basic Unity principle is putting into action the truths that we know.  It’s good to study and to have an intellectual understanding of spiritual truth, but knowing the truth doesn’t change our lives – putting what we know into practice is what changes.

 

Don Miguel says, Action is about living fully.  Inaction denies life.  God is life in action.  Every action becomes a ritual honoring God. We are an individual expression of God.  We honor that by doing our best.

 

I’m convinced that the way of God is not about perfection, the way of God is about authenticity.  It’s about showing up as all of who we are.

 

The way of God means waking up to our God consciousness.  And when we do that we become spiritual warriors, showing up with the courage to create the life that we want to live.  When we are committed to leading our lives from God Consciousness we possess the spiritual courage to look at what’s not working in our lives and to make changes.  When we live from God consciousness, we will always do our best.

 

Don Miguel says you can only be you when you do your best.  When you don’t do your best, you are denying yourself the right to be you. You express your divinity by being alive and loving yourself and others.

 

Doing my best means being open and available to Spirit, reaching for the way of God in every area of my life.  If I’m looking to leap into the unknown, or I’m thrust into the unknown, doing my best is saying, Here I am, God, move through me.  Because it’s in that place that there’s divine wisdom, divine power, divine love, divine wholeness.

SO, there you have it…4 ways we can all use to continue on our Spiritual Journey.  Be Impeccable With Your Word; Don’t Take Anything Personally; Don’t Make Assumptions; & Always Do Your Best.  Simple but not easy; still very helpful for us all to be the best representation of the Christ within, expressing as ourselves.

 

 

The Four Agreements Pt 1 Agreements 1 & 2

 

Last Sunday Richard made some really important points throughout his message.  One was something I have been speaking about for several years. And that is the importance of learning about who you are, learning about yourself as part…a very big and important part, of your spiritual journey.

I was really joyful to hear him say it.

And that ‘getting to know and understand yourself’ often goes back to your childhood.  Sometime some of us do not wish to go there, but we must, if at least to acknowledge that certain things happened, things were said and done.

Doris Mortman said, “Until you make peace with who you are, you will never be content with what you have.”

And that is part of what Don Migel Ruiz’s message is in “The Four Agreements- A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom”.

The foundation of The Four Agreements is that when we were young we were taught certain things that we had no control of; think about it…did you have a say in what language you learned and what religion you practiced when you were a child?

We learned, sometimes through trial & error, what behaviors were good and what were bad according to our family values, our religious values and our National values.

And we were rewarded and punished accordingly.

As we processed all of this, we made “agreements” with ourselves about how we would behave.

We learned the rules of the world we lived in and what would bring us love and what wouldn’t.

If we were beautiful enough, we would be loved.

If we were smart enough, we would be loved.

If we didn’t cry or show emotion, we would be loved.

If we were the star athlete, we would be loved.

Ruiz says- “Whenever we hear an opinion and believe it, we make an agreement, and it becomes part of our belief system.  …somewhere someone told us through their word, that we were not enough and we agreed with it.”

 

We end up judging ourselves and judging others in our search for perfection.

The agreement, and the power of our agreement is so strong that even if we understand the concept of it not being true, we feel the blame, the guilt and the shame that occur if we go against these old rules. This is our DOMESTICATION. We idealized normalcy.

I think this is interesting…In Tibet they don’t even have a word for ‘guilty.’ The closest thing is ‘intelligent regret that decides to do things differently.’”

 

We all have personal power, unfortunately, we spend much of it holding onto these agreements that were born in our early lives.

So, Ruiz’s “Four Agreements” are to aid us to break the agreements we made through our domestication.

 

Be Impeccable with your Word.

 

“The First Agreement”, he says, “is the most important one. Be impeccable with your word.”

The word impeccable means “without sin.”  “According to the Toltecs, a sin is anything that you do which goes against yourself.  When you are impeccable, you take responsibility for your actions, but you do not judge or blame yourself.”  (Just curious, how many of you had a reaction to the word SIN?  Domestication.)

 

In the words of Ruiz “Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others.”

Being impeccable with your word is much more than “Be honest.” This is more like “be thoughtful about your speech, use your speech to build love and community rather than to tear it down, do not gossip, and do not speak negatively about yourself.”

Story of village man….?

Being impeccable with our word begins with ourselves. We all have a lot of negative self-talk that goes on. Self-rejection is the biggest ‘sin.’ That which we use against ourselves, we will also inevitably use against others.

Yes, we make mistakes, but then we need to take responsibility for our words and actions without judging or blaming ourselves. Learn from it, grow from it, and move on. Being impeccable with our word means using our energy in the direction of truth and love for ourselves.

WORDS have POWER! IT is a force, an energy you have to express and communicate, to think and thereby create the events in your life.

We’ve all seen what our words can do, yes?  They can lift up or they can tear down.

Being impeccable (without sin) with your word is the correct use of your energy; it means to use your energy in the direction of truth and love for yourself and for others.

 

Rumi says:  Raise your words, not your voice. It is the rain that grows flowers not thunder.

Being impeccable is

1. Building your own self up with the word.
2. Supporting others, sharing love, radiating positive thoughts and feelings.
3. Using your word in the direction of truth and the energy of love.

 

 

The second agreement is about the thoughts, actions and words others have about us and how to handle them.  The second agreement is “Don’t Take Anything Personally.”

the words of others…Don’t take it personally.

 

When was the last time you were really offended?

At least once in the last week?  Can you think of the last two or three times you were really offended?  I know, it doesn’t sound like the Unity thing to do.  We think we’re supposed to forgive and forget instantaneously.  But today I’d invite you to pay attention to when and how we are offended.

I have had little sticks of being offended when some people have left Unity without saying why.  And then I stop myself and remember everyone is on their own journey and maybe Unity is not for them right now.

We can’t truly be free and at peace until we get a handle on taking everything personally. The moment we get offended by anyone else’s comment, we are no longer free.  We are being controlled by the behavior, the words, the actions of others.

The moment we understand that what other people think about us is none of our business, we are free.

 

If I called you plaid – as you were walking towards me today and I said you’re looking very plaid today, how many of you would have been offended by that?  Anybody?  Most of us would not have been offended by being called plaid.  Why?  Because most of us don’t believe we’re plaid.  Most of us know in our heart of hearts that we are not plaid.  You don’t have any attachment to the word plaid.

When you take something personally, it’s because you believe it.

If I called you stupid or ugly or unworthy or lazy, you would only be offended if you believe it.

 

What I invite you to see today is that every time you get offended, you’re buying into a misconception that you have about yourself.  We get offended because we believe there’s some truth to what they’re saying and we then go into defense mode.  We close our hearts and put up our walls.  We put so much energy into protecting the exterior; we don’t have enough energy to heal the parts that are wounded.  We spend so much energy protecting and defending ourselves.  Some of us have incredible defense mechanisms.  So much of our energy is put into defensive action that we’re not taking care of the inner person.

 

Question, do you want to be right or free?  Some of the most miserable people I know are right.  They have been wounded or treated unjustly.  They are right.  But the question is because they know they are right, are they any happier?   Do you want to be free or do you want to be right?  Do you want to be reactive or responsive?

Get back to the Spiritual Truth about you.  You have forgotten what you are made of and who you are at depth.

 

We are of God, we are spiritual beings, born of the universal love, the creative power.  But what happened is we have come into an illusion, a dream, that we are powerless, that we are weak. And we have become insecure and we practice being insecure.  When people reject us or are mean to us, we take it personally, we buy into it and use it to feel bad about ourselves.

The truth is the infinite love of God is always pouring into us but we don’t recognize it, we buy into the old dream.  How many of us were taught to look to the world to get our needs met instead of looking within?  How many of us were taught that we were personally responsible for others personal reactions to life?

 

What would happen in our lives if we take the energy we generate from being offended and use it to be transformed? What if we put our attention on truly knowing what we are made of?

 

Don’t take things personally –

 

We hear that and we can believe it intellectually, but what happens the moment someone says to you, Now, I don’t want you to take this personally – what happens to your heart?

Boom.

Because you know that in the very next moment, the person is going to let loose an emotional lightning bolt and heave it into your heart.

 

So my question is can you keep your heart open and still not take it personally? Because the truth is, it has nothing to do with you.  But when we shut our hearts down time after time, we believe it’s easier to live with our hearts closed and we’re so busy defending the outer, we don’t remember what we’re made of.  From the moment we were created, we have been divine expressions of creation – the beloved of God.”

 

Now is the time for us to use the energy that we have been using to protect ourselves and convert it to energy used to transform ourselves.

Are you willing to stop living at the realm of emotions and from the outer and begin to start living from within, from our center?

Because when we live as the victim of other people’s opinions about us, (good or bad) it’s like we’re living on an emotional roller coaster.  We can either live our lives on that roller coaster of emotion or we can get serious about our transformation at depth.

 

Every time someone says something offensive and we take it personally, our spiritual progress stops because we’re involved in the drama and emotion of the offense.  We’ll never be free as long as we’re living in the external, as long as we’re protecting ourselves.

 

The only place where true freedom resides is when we know we’re created in the image and likeness of God – the image of light and the likeness of Love.

 

So I invite you to start monitoring what offends you, because every time someone offends you, they’re pointing out a wounded place within your soul.  They’re pointing out an old dream.  Now, you can try to protect that wounded place, that old drama or you can transform it, you can heal it.  We can only heal what we shine the light on, what we recognize.

Freedom can only be found when we know God is our center.

 

Closing – steps

The Progression of remembering what manner of Spirit we are of:

1. Someone says something that offends us.
2. Be still, be silent.
3. Recognize that our button is getting pushed. And be willing to look within to find the wounded place and to heal it. (recognize that it’s an old story.)
4. Remember to open our hearts to God rather than to defend our insecurities and defects of character. Remember what manner of Spirit we are made of.